Tyson Fury claims Wladimir Klitschko dropped Deontay Wilder twice in sparring

To be the man, you have to beat the man

On November 28, 2015, Tyson Fury beat the greatest heavyweight of the modern era when he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf. Fury was a betting underdog going into that bout, just as he is ahead of his first world title fight since his time away from the ring, when he addressed his well-documented issues with mental health and addiction. WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is the slight favourite to leave Los Angeles' Staples Centre with his undefeated record intact this weekend but Fury doesn't view 'The Bronze Bomber' as the toughest fight of his career. After the final pre-fight press conference on Wednesday descended into chaos, Fury explained why he believes Klitschko in 2015 is superior to current-day Wilder. "Wilder ain't on Wladimir Klitschko's level," Fury said. "I've heard from a good source that when Klitschko and Wilder sparred, Klitschko dropped him twice. Twice! And Wilder got out of the ring because he couldn't continue. "Klitschko didn't even land a glove on me, never mind drop me." Wilder insists that he remains unimpressed by Fury's marquee victory over Klitschko, claiming that the Ukrainian legend was already beaten before he got in the ring. But 'The Gypsy King' took no notice of Wilder's dismissive theory. Fury explained: "I think he's just trying to discredit the performance but I don't make anything of that. It doesn't really matter." Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury is live on BT Sport Box Office